Designing with Native Plants for Ecological Services – Westchester County NY

When we look at many of our designed and constructed residential landscapes, what do we see? Is there a variety of plants, flowers, colors, heights? Is there a variety of different trees? Are there tall, mature trees providing shade and canopy? Is your landscape dominated by lawn? What condition is the lawn in? Are there layers of perennial beds and borders or does the lawn abruptly run into the trees? Are there any natural areas or buffers? What kind of environment surrounds your property and landscape environment? Do you have water on or near your property? What is the drainage like, too much water or too little ?

I recently attended a lovely wedding for friends in a very attractive, very popular, country club on the sound. It was a beautiful spring day. It was way too beautiful to be sitting inside! I took a stroll around the well tended grounds to investigate the landscape. As a naturalist in the Spring, I find myself first looking for birds. Although this landscape was attractive to the eye, there was a complete and total absence of birds with the exception of the most common species (morning doves, starlings, sparrows, crows, blackbirds etc..). Why is this? Well, as scavengers they are adapted to our ecologically poor landscapes. Although there were many flowering plants in bloom (daffodils, Japanese cherries, bradford pears, forsythia etc.), there really weren’t any bee’s or other insects. Like most of our older commercial or residential landscapes the property was dominated by lawn, specimen exotic trees and evergreens.

In the past, landscape designers, architects and even homeowners and gardeners did not ask the question…What ecological value and services does the landscape provide?…Does it provide shelter, habitat and food for beneficial organisms in the form of birds, wildlife, bee’s, insects, butterflies etc?